Well we’ve already learned one thing. Trump misspoke when he said that once in office he’d act so “Presidential” that we’d all be bored stiff. And I think we are beginning to see that the quality of his actions will depend on whether he’s being advised by sensible conservatives (the Supreme Court pick) or the alt-right wing of the administration (immigration, trade, civil liberties, etc.)
But you gotta love the loyal Trump supporters:
1. Trump supporter #1, Yeah! Trump fulfilled his campaign promise to ban Muslims!
2. Trump supporter #2: How dare you suggest this is a Muslim ban! It’s nothing of the sort.
3. Trump supporter #1: We gotta keep out refugees from poor countries, they are too lazy to work.
4. Trump supporter #2: How dare Starbucks give jobs to refugees; “Americans” need those jobs.
5. Alt-right Trump fan #1: Immigrants are lowering our nation’s collective IQ
6. Alt-right Trump fan #2: That’s right, which is why Trump doesn’t plan any crackdown on all those family reunification immigrants or seasonal agricultural workers, but instead will go after the Chinese and Indians getting H1-B visas.
7. Trump fan #1: Trump’s finally telling the Germans, Japanese and Chinese that they gotta let their currencies rise.
8. Trump fan #2: Yeah, I read that if the Chinese let the yuan float it would “rise” from 7 to the dollar to 8 to the dollar.
9. Jeff Sessions lecturing Sally Yates on how important it is for the Attorney General to disobey unlawful orders.
10. Trump: You’re fired!
An early example of my Trump derangement syndrome occurred when I claimed that General Flynn was deranged. Now even the Trump administration is coming around to this view:
Flynn was a favorite of Trump’s when the retired general was heaping contempt upon Hillary Clinton, but Flynn evidently hasn’t worn well with the boss since he vanquished her. Sources tell the Times that Flynn is seen as talking too much and his Pizzagate-enabling son has been a thorn in the administration’s side. There are also whispers about Flynn’s being too close to certain fringe characters, which is true but also profoundly self-serving since Bannon and Trump himself are closely tied to the same elements. According to the Times’ juicy dish, Rex Tillerson, Jim Mattis and Mike Pompeo convened a meeting this week and didn’t invite Flynn — because he was the subject of discussion. The claws are definitely out.
PS. The conservative argument that Trump will help the economy (which is not completely implausible) is based on the assumption that the good Trump will outweigh the bad Trump. That may be. But a word of caution; it’s a lot easier to be destructive than to be constructive. I know how to destroy a house. I don’t know how to build a house.